Special weapons and tactic (SWAT) teams or other police and military personnel may use breaching apparatus to gain entry into locked and barricaded buildings, where criminals, terrorists, hostages, drug caches and the like are located. The situations that may be encountered are so varied that usually such teams must be equipped with a large variety of equipment for overcoming a broad spectrum of problems and obstacles that must be overcome to gain entry. In addition, it is highly desirable to minimize damage to surrounding structure when using explosives to gain entry.